Hortipes tarachodes, BOSSELAERS & JOCQUÉ, 2000

BOSSELAERS, JAN & JOCQUÉ, RUDY, 2000, Hortipes, A Huge Genus Of Tiny Afrotropical Spiders (Araneae, Liocranidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2000 (256), pp. 4-4 : 4-

Hortipes tarachodes , new species Figures 27d–g , 29e–g ; Map 1

TYPES: Male holotype: marshy forest near Kikoli source, elev. 850 m, Kwango, Feshi region, at 15 km and to the right of road to Popokabaka, Congo S06°08', E18°09' (March 1959; J. Leleup) ( MRAC 113.551 ). Paratypes: 1♀ together with holotype ; 16, 1♀ from small, inundated swamp forest, elev. 840 m, Kwango, Feshi region , left bank of Kwenge River, Congo S06°08', E18°09' (February 1959; J. Leleup) ( MRAC; now in AMNH) ; 1♀ from small, inundated swamp forest, elev. 840 m, Kwango, Feshi region , left bank of Kwenge River, Congo S06°08', E18°09' (February 1959; J. Leleup) ( MRAC) .

ETYMOLOGY: The species’ epithet is a latinization of the Greek ταpαxωδηs, confusing. The name refers to the very complex and higly coiled ID of the vulva.

DIAGNOSIS: Males of H. tarachodes are recognized by the broadly truncated and finely toothed distal prong of the RTA in combination with the toothed embolar base. Females are easily recognized by the large ST1, completely wrapped in a very complex series of ID loops and coils and flanked on the outside by two superimposed circular ID loops.

MALE: Measurements. Total length 2.43; carapace 1.16 long, 1.00 wide; length of fe: I 1.00, II 1.05, III 0.86, IV 1.24. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 1 rlt 1; ti: I, II vsp 6; mt: III plt 1 vt 1 rlt 0; IV plt 1 vt 2 rlt 1. Coloration. Carapace yellow brown with a brown line at the fovea. Chelicerae and sternum yellow. Legs pale yellow. Abdomen pale yellow, no pattern. Palp. Tibia with complex RTA, equipped with two prongs beside the teeth at the base of the ventrolateral attachment; dorsal prong flat, pointing upward, tapered toward the blunt tip; frontal prong broad, twisted, and bent outward, broadly truncated and with serrated distal edge; cymbium with large, retrolateral bend with regular series of long setae; tegulum with large subcircular swelling at base of em­

2000 BOSSELAERS AND JOCQUÉ: HORTIPES 87

with thick basal part and thin, slightly curved distal part; embolus inserted far in front on tegulum, with tooth at base, long, whiplike, looped over more than 540° (fig. 27f, g).

FEMALE: Measurements. Total length 3.16; carapace 1.35 long, 1.05 wide; length of fe: I 1.11, II 1.13, III 0.89, IV 1.32. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2–3; IV plt 1 rlt 1; ti: I, II vsp 6; mt: III plt 1 vt 1 rlt 0; IV plt 1 vt 2 rlt 1. Coloration. Carapace yellow brown with a brown line at the fovea. Chelicerae, legs, and sternum yellow. Abdomen pale yellow, no pattern. Genitalia. Epigyne a concave anterior scape with median blunt tooth pointing backward, flanked on both sides by heavily sclerotized entrances of IDs (fig. 27d, e) Vulva: first stretch of ID wide, thick walled, and associated with gland, followed by two superimposed circular loops situated to outside of large ST1. Spermathecae 1 itself completely wrapped in very complex series of loops and coils of ID (fig. 29e–g).

VARIABILITY: The transparency of the vulva and the exact course of the coils and loops of ID are somewhat variable (fig. 27d, e).

DISTRIBUTION: Kwango, Feshi region, Congo.

Figures

Map 1. Distribution of Hortipes species described in this publication. Hortipes baerti n, H. centralis h, H. hesperoecius O, H. machaeropolion D, H. orchatocnemis ^, H. oronesiotes Δ, H. penthesileia v, H. silvarum •, H. tarachodes V, H. terminator, and H. zombaensis.. Rectangles enclose regions (hatched) where high numbers of Hortipes species were found (number of species in parentheses). See detailed maps 2–5.

Fig. 27. a, b. Hortipes auriga, new species, male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. c. Hortipes centralis, new species, epigyne. d–g. Hortipes tarachodes, new species. d, e. Epigynes. f, g. Male right palp, ventral and retrolateral views. h, i. Hortipes terminator, new species, male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. Scale lines: 0.25 mm.

Fig. 29. a, b. Hortipes centralis, new species. a. Vulva, ventral view. b. Vulva, schematic representation. c. Hortipes robertus, new species, vulva, ventral view. Arrow indicates gland associated with widened portion of ID. d. Hortipes abucoletus, new species, vulva, ventral view. Arrow indicates gland associated with widened portion of ID. e–g. Hortipes tarachodes, new species. e, f. Vulva, left half, ventral and dorsal views. g. Vulva, left half, schematic representation. Scale line: 0.1 mm.